Symptoms of PTSD Among Adolescents and Young Adult Survivors Six Years after the 2010 Haiti Earthquake

This study investigates the long-term consequences for adolescents and young adults who experienced the January 12, 2010, earthquake that struck Haiti. It aims to evaluate the consequences of the earthquake in adolescents and young adults six years after the disaster. During May and June 2016, in Port-au-Prince, 723 adolescents and young adults (364 girls and young women) aged 14 to 24 were assessed by means the Impact of Event Scale–Revised (IES-R) in addition to social demographic characteristics. In our sample, 35.82% reported clinically significant symptoms of PTSD, with a higher prevalence for girls and young women. They also had consistently higher scores than boys and young men on every subscale. Participants with working parents had consistently higher scores across all the subscales than participants whose parents did not work. This study showed that, more than six years after the earthquake, more than one third of the participants assessed had severe PTSD symptoms. Our results may prove useful for setting up mental health programs and devising tools appropriate for the youth population in Haiti.